The Cleveland Cavaliers seemingly had a quality trade piece to dangle in J.R. Smith, and likely during the 2019 NBA Draft, whether that would possibly return a first-round pick for this year or reportedly in other future years.
Smith’s contract structure for 2019-20, as we’ve often highlighted here at KJG, is the reason Cleveland (and myself included, too) is the reason why it was feasible to believe that the Cavaliers would have been able to get a decent trade return.
Smith, a player that is on an expiring contract after next season (if it was played out at least), is only guaranteed to make $3.